One Spring Chicken

Resilience is your middle name. You have the fortitude to keep pushing, to keep moving forward, to keep putting one talon in front of the other as you waddle towards a better tomorrow. — Ruth Bader Ginsbird

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Here’s What’s Happening At Good Spirits Farm

This morning, when I wandered onto the back patio in my bathrobe, cup of coffee in hand, to check my spring seedlings, I heard Ruthie’s distinctive “brrrrr-rrrrh!” at my feet. It was the first time in a long time that I’ve seen her all the way up by the house—and begging for treats! She has had a very hard winter, and I have been very nervous that she wouldn’t live to see spring.

It all started with a hard molt during the coldest weeks of the year. There are regular molts, where birds lose a good chunk of feathers but otherwise are fine, which is what most of the hens did this year. And then there are hard molts, where their poor rear ends are mostly naked, their combs go pale, and they are so low energy they barely leave the chicken house each morning.

For weeks, we either brought Ruthie into the house at night or nestled her into the barn, hoping she’d be warm enough. Even when her feathers began growing back, she lacked strength, choosing to sleep on the chicken house floor rather than up on the roost with her sisters. Each night, we’d pick her up off the floor and place her on a table—so she’d be up and out of the way of falling poop (a real hazard in a chicken house), but wouldn’t have to use her limited strength to balance on a roost bar.

I truly thought she wasn’t going to recover. She’s an old bird, and there were so many things—worms, or mites, or bird flu—that could have struck when she was so rundown. Day after day, though, she’s gotten herself up, out of the chicken shack and down to the feeders. She has simply refused to give up.

And: She’s made it! The weather is turning warm, her feathers are back, and, as of this morning, she has the energy to come and beg for treats at the back door. A lesson in perseverance if ever there was one!

Other signs of spring?

Sheepie sun naps.

Bok choy seedlings ready to go into the ground.

Garlic rising from its winter nap.

And baby clothes and skivvies hanging out on the line. Friends, we’ve nearly made it. Keep going.

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Here’s What I Loved This Week (Two things this week!)

I finally got time to watch the Weird Al mockumentary/biopic “Weird: The Al Yankovich Story,” which is just as goofy as you might imagine. If you need a mindless diversion this weekend, I recommend it.

Also, this week I took a few minutes to chat with storyteller Isabelle Barbour about her 100 Days project. She’s speaking to people about their experiences as we navigate the first 100 Days of the new administration, and she’s looking for a few more voices to connect with. If this feels like something that resonates with you, you can read her description of the project below:

"I created my 100 Days project to build connection for myself and others. I'm looking to interview people for about 30 minutes and create space for them to reflect on how things are going. With permission -- I record the interviews and will be working to create an audio piece, possibly accompanied by a visual of the people who participated. The result will be a representation of how people are coping and building during this really difficult time in our country. You can get more information about it here: https://www.isabellebarbour.com/one_hundred_days/ . I can be reached at isabelle@isabellebarbour.com

Oh, and last thing, last thing: We are in the path of the potentially destructive storms and tornadoes forecast for tonight and tomorrow. If you could send all your best tornado-repelling vibes, we’d be grateful for them.